Tech stocks peppy; Netflix leaps
NEW YORK — Technology and consumer-focused companies led U.S. stocks to more records Tuesday. Netflix, at the center of both groups, soared after saying it gained more than 8 million subscribers at the end of 2017.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 6.16 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,839.13. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 3.79 points to 26,210.81. The 30-stock index was pulled lower by Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble’s losses. The Nasdaq composite jumped 52.26 points, or 0.7 percent, to 7,460.29. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks rose 5.54 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,610.71.
Bond prices rose and yields fell after the Bank of Japan said it isn’t cutting back its stimulus programs. Yields had reached longtime highs, and the decline helped high-dividend companies like utilities and real estate investment trusts. Health care and household goods companies fell after Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble gave disappointing quarterly reports.
U.S. solar power companies spiked after President Donald Trump approved tariffs on imported solar-energy components. Some investors were relieved: Analysts said the tariffs will make production more expensive for U.S. companies, but they weren’t as harsh as they could have been. Companies that do their manufacturing overseas finished lower, and some of the U.S. companies gave up their gains before trading ended.
“You could probably argue that this particular tariff is the first implementation of the protectionist rhetoric [that] he ran on,” said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading & derivatives at Charles Schwab. That didn’t worry investors much, but Frederick said stocks might decline if there are signs other countries are retaliating or that the administration is preparing to take more aggressive steps.
Netflix said it picked up 8.3 million subscribers in the fourth quarter, a much stronger result than the company and analysts had expected. The streaming video company’s stock soared $22.71, or 10 percent, to $250.29.
Big technology companies also rallied. Facebook rose $3.98, or 2.1 percent, to $189.35 and Google’s parent company Alphabet rose $12.01, or 1 percent, to $1,176.17.
The tariff on imported solar-energy components will start at 30 percent and it’s aimed at cheaper imports from places like South Korea and China. The latter country called the measures an abuse of trade remedies.
First Solar rose as much as 8.6 percent before turning lower and falling 48 cents to $68.48. SunPower gained 6.8 percent early on, but later fell 56 cents, or 6.4 percent, to $8.16. However Sunrun gained 37 cents, or 6.1 percent, to $6.41. JinkoSolar Holdings sank $1.85, or 7.9 percent, to $21.52 and Canadian Solar declined 13 cents to $15.64.
Bond prices turned higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.62 percent from 2.66 percent. For the last few days, the 10-year yield has been at its highest level since September 2014.
Benchmark U.S. crude rose 90 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $64.47 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 93 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $69.96 a barrel in London.